


Reindeer

by Hellokaelyn



Series: Christmas Prompt List [17]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Christmas prompt list, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 15:52:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17062610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hellokaelyn/pseuds/Hellokaelyn
Summary: Day 17: Reindeer





	Reindeer

**Author's Note:**

> For dwayne-pride's Christmas prompt list on Tumblr.  
> Day 17

Ellie sat on Lucia's couch feeling a little awkward as she looked around the living room that was covered in pictures of Amanda. She and Nick had only started dating a few weeks ago, Lucia when she found out had demanded they both come over for dinner sometime. With Amanda away being a counselor at a summer camp, Lucia was apparently bored out of her mind according to Nick. She had agreed to it happily only for Nick to get pulled into something for Vance last minute, meaning they had to take separate cars and he would be late. 

She was fine with it until she realized while Lucia wasn't a stranger to her, this was the first time she was  _ alone _ with her now boyfriends sister. The woman who raised him more than his own mother, the woman who helped Nick grow into the amazing person he was today. 

It was a little daunting. 

“So…” Lucia said slowly, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen over them. “Wanna see pictures of little Nick?”

Ellie sat up straighter, an eager smile forming. “Now how could I turn that down?”

Lucia grinned as she grabbed a photo album, a big one just full of Nick when he was little. 

They spent the next ten minutes aww'ing over little Nick, Lucia taking the time to share stories from when the picture was taken. 

Lucia turned another page and right away Ellie's eyes zeroed in on one of the pictures. Nick looked to be about five and was holding on tightly to an obviously worn out and old reindeer stuffed animal, a gigantic toothy grin on his face. 

It gave Ellie all sorts of feelings.

Lucia noticed which one she was staring at and gave a sad smile. “Nick loved that reindeer. Our dad gave it to him when he was a year old, only a few months before he died. Nick of course had no memories of our dad but he did have the stuffed reindeer and cherished the thing, never went anywhere without it even school.” Lucia chuckled. “He'd stuff it into his backpack every morning.”

Ellie felt her heart warm and hurt at the same time. 

“What happened to it?” She asked. 

Lucia sighed. “When we moved to Florida, our mom and I knew English enough but Nick had a hard time grasping it and so he would speak Spanish when he didn't know a word, most of the kids were nice about it but some weren't. One day one of the boys who picked on Nick took the reindeer from his bag and ripped it apart.”

Ellie felt a ache in her chest for him even if it had been years ago. She knew what it felt like when bullies ruined things you loved.

“Nick was devastated, spent a lot of time crying in his room. It was more than a stuffed animal to him. I knew it wouldn't be the same but I tried going around to the stores looking for the same one, it wouldn't have the same personal value but I hoped it'd help ease the ache a little, but I couldn't find it.” 

Two weeks later Ellie handed Nick a bag.

“What's this?” Nick asked, giving her a confused look. “I didn't miss an anniversary did I?”

She chuckled, gesturing toward the bag. “Just look inside.”

Nick gave her an odd look but set it down on the kitchen table, taking out the tissue paper she used to cover it. 

His eyes widened as he slowly pulled out the object. 

A reindeer stuffed animal, obviously not the  _ same _ one he had, but an exact replica. 

“Ellie what-” She could see his eyes get a little watery as he held it. 

“When you were late to dinner, Lucia showed me pictures of you and one of them was you holding the reindeer. She told me about it and how she looked all over for the exact one but couldn't find it...so I did some digging on the internet.”

Nick set down the reindeer and pulled her into a hug, so quickly that she let out a small noise of surprise. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him. 

“I love you.”

He said it with so much emotion that she felt her own eyes water. 

“I love you too.”

She didn't care that they had only technically been dating for a few weeks, she had known she loved him before that. He was her best friend and though she didn't believe in it before, she knew he was her soul mate, her endgame. 

As Nick pulled away to pull her into a deep kiss, Ellie had a small vision of Nick handing down that same reindeer to their child in the future. 


End file.
